Love, Hate, What's the Difference?
by FoldedPaperHearts
Summary: There is a fine line between love and hate - well, what happens when two of the most unlikely people cross that line without even knowing it? Scorpious Malfoy and Rose Weasley will find out exactly what happens.
1. Chapter 1: A Beginning

(( This is only my second fanfic, so it probably won't be super fantastic. D: But anyways; I don't own the series nor do I own most of the characters. I own the OCs-like Alan Richards, for example. I'm not trying to be JK Rowling or anything of the sort. ^^ ))

The glass fell to the floor, shattering everywhere and spilling it's contents all over two unlucky children. Every pair of eyes in the classroom turned to stare at them and one pair to glare.

"Mr. Malfoy! Miss Weasley! What on earth are you two doing?" Professor Farr strode to the back of the room, his eyes blazing.

"It was Weasley's fault! She grabbed it out of my hand and it fell. I swear, sir, I had nothing to do with it!" Scorpius looked pretty pathetic standing there with some kind of green sludge covering the front of his robes. But he was as indignant as ever, refusing to take the blame for something that he had more than likely had as much part in as Rose. Scorpius noticed that at his words, Rose narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to reply. However, she was cut off by Professor Farr.

"For some reason, I fail to believe you, Mr. Malfoy. Both of you, come with me. Now." The Potions Professor turned on his heel and walked towards the door to the classroom, obviously expecting the two students to follow him.

With a murderous glare in Rose's direction, Scorpius followed. He could hear her sigh irritably, which was followed by the light sound of her footsteps behind him. Scorpius looked down as he walked past his fellow classmates; he could hear their snickering at the prospect of the two getting into trouble. Again. This was what; the fourth time week? Scorpious didn't even know anymore, for he'd lost count after a while. When they had left the classrom, Professor Farr began leading them throughout the halls and up a flight of stairs. He could hear Professor Farr muttered about how expensive potion ingredients were these days and how careless students were.

When Scorpius finally looked up, he found himself staring at the entrance to the Headmaster's office. He swallowed nervously and could hear a sharp intake of breath from Rose beside him.

_Great. Just great! Thanks to her, we actually are getting send to McGonagall! Why couldn't Farr just give us detention, like all the other professors? _Scorpius's thoughts were quick and bitter and he narrowed his eyes as he thought them.

As Professor Farr knocked, then pushed open the door, Scorpius could tell that Rose was getting more and more nervous by the second. She kept fidgeting and playing with her hair. He couldn't help but smirk that; her being nervous and scared about getting in trouble was what made it fun torturing her. Although, getting in trouble himself wasn't very enjoyable. If he could get around that part, his life would be perfect.

When they entered the Headmaster's office, Scorpius began to get nervous himself. What would their punishment be this time? Last time they had been sent here, they had been given three weeks of detention. But, then again, Scorpius had gotten pretty used to the detentions. That he could handle. But anything else...well, he wasn't so sure.

"Professor Farr. Miss Weasley. Mr. Malfoy." Headmaster McGonagall nodded to each one of them as she said their names, but her tone was cold and her eyes were narrowed.

"What in the world..." she began, her voice trailing off. She had noticed the green sludge that was dripping off of the two students and onto the floor and it was obvious that she was holding back a grimance. With a slight flick of her wand, the two student were suddenly cleaned of all of the sludge. Although, the smell still remained with was quite unfortunate to the two students. Scorpius scowled at this; there had to be a spell for that! He held his tongue, however, for he knew that if he opened his mouth and spoke his mind that he would only get into even more trouble than he was already in.

"Would either of you care to tell me what happened?" McGonagall's tone was icy. Scorpius dared a glance in Rose's direction. Her face was pale and her eyes, which were directed at the floor, were wide. She wasn't taken this very well. _Has she never gotten sent to the Headmaster's office before or something?_ Scorpius wondered curiously.

The blonde-haired boy quickly turned his attention back to the Headmaster when the older woman cleared her throat.  
"Well, you see Professor McGonagall, Weasley and I were in the back getting ingredients for a potion when she rudely tried to take the jar from my hand. I jerked it back and she knocked it out of my hand." Scorpius's tone was smooth and he looked up at McGonagall with an innocent expression. He then shot a glance at Rose through the corner of his eye; she was staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"That is NOT what happened, Professor! Malfoy, you are such a little-"

"Language, Miss Weasley."

"Sorry, Professor. But he really is lying. I had the jar in my hand first and he tried grabbing it, so I pulled away. He called me...erm, certain things, and tried to grab it again. We both lost our grips on it and it fell and shattered." Rose looked up at the Headmaster, her eyes still narrowed with anger.

Scorpius sneered. "Are you really going to believe her, Professor? She is a notorious liar, you know." His voice wavered a bit, however. That was what really had happened; what if McGonagall believed her? He would surely get punished and it would all be thanks to Weasley. She'd pay for it.

"Oh really, Mr. Malfoy? And this is coming from the boy who already has two weeks worth of detentions? From the same boy who causes trouble for his teachers every year and the same boy who tortures Miss Weasley as well as many other people on a daily basis? Are you sure you have your facts straight?" Professor MgGonagall's tone was still icy.

Scorpius scowled at her words and lowered his gaze. He swore under his breath which, unfortunately, was heard by McGonagall.

"Malfoy! I have had it up to here with your attitude! You and Miss Weasley will both stay here with me tomorrow for yet anoter detention." At first, the words seemed to have no affect on the two. When she said the time, however, their eyes widened.

"At five pm. Understood?"

"But Professor! Th-that's during the Quidditch match! I have to play! You know very well that I'm the star player!" Scorpious's tone was pleading and it was obvious that this was a punishment he did not want to go through.

Professor McGonagall arched her eyebrows at him. "I am aware of that Malfoy. And I believe the Slytherins will just have to deal with the loss of their Keeper for one game."

Rose seemed to be too angry for words. However, she did speak after a few moments. When she did, her words came out slowly, angrily. "But Professor; I didn't even really do anything! I mean, like you said, Malfoy is the liar. And my brother Hugo and my cousin James are both playing tomorrow!"

McGonagall seemed unfazed by this. "Tomorrow at five pm. I expect to see you both there. Now, it is time for dinner; off you go."

Scorpius stared at her for a few moments before sighing in defeat and turning around to go towards the door. _That stupid old bat! Slytherin is going to lose without me! _he thought angrily. Sure, he was satisfied that he had gotten Weasley into trouble once again. But it was definitely _not_ worth missing the Quidditch game. Plus, most of his friends were on the team; they would surely kill him when they found out he wouldn't be playing!

Without another word, Scorpius had left the room and was walking through the silent halls towards the Great Hall. He dreaded having to tell everyone that he wouldn't be playing in the game. Most of all, Richards. Alan Richards was a sixth year and was also the Slytherin Quidditch team Captain. And, although Scorpius liked him and Alan liked him back, they both very well knew that if Scorpious made him angry, this could get very bad for the blonde very quickly. Scorpius swallowed at this. He was dead for sure.

Suddenly, Scorpius thought he heard someone calling his name. He looked back and forth curiously, but saw no one. After a few moments, he heard it again, but closer this time. Close enough to know that it was coming from behind him and the speaker was someone he really did _not_ want to talk to at the moment. He stopped, however, and turned his head slightly to see Albus Potter coming towards him, his expression dark. Scorpius could only imagine what he wanted this time. Albus walked up to Scorpius, walking around him so he was blocking his path.

"In case you didn't notice, Potter, I'm on my way to dinner. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Scorpius let his voice trail off as he tried to side-step the other boy. However, when Albus shoved him back with his hand, causing Scorpius to stumble backwards, the blonde-haired boy was thoroughly surprised.

"What in the bloody hell is wrong with you? And what do you want!" Scorpius was obviously getting annoyed now, judging by his tone.

"What did you do to my cousin!" he shouted. "She is all depressed over something and she won't tell any of us! The only thing she said is to come find you! And you are pretty lucky that it was _me _who found you, and not James. He's even angrier and you _know _what happened last time his anger was directed at you." Albus was close to shouting at this point and his expression was just as dark as it had been before.

Scorpius flinched at his last words. Oh yes, he did indeed remember what had happened last time he'd made James Potter angry.

_xxx_

_Scorpius laughed as he watched Rose Weasley dangling helplessly from her broomstick, far above all of the heads of the First Year students. Tucking his wand back into his robes, Scorpius smirked as a group of Slytherins greeted him on a spell well-done. They all agreed that Weasley hadn't seen it coming and the effect was quite amusing, which even Scorpius had to agree on. Who had known she'd fall from her broom? And her face was priceless! Scorpius couldn't have planned it better._

_However, everything came crashed down when he suddenly found himself on the ground. He turned onto his back to see two angry Potters swarming around him, wands pointed right at him.  
"What did you do to our cousin?" they simultaneously spat out at the blonde-haired boy. With wide, gray eyes, Scorpious stared up at James and Albus Potter._

_"I don't know what your talking about." That earned the blonde a kick to the ribs. He scrunched up in pain, his hands wrapped around his waist. "What's wrong with you two?" he shouted, his teeth clenched. He realized, now, that students had gathered around the three students and were watching in awe. Even the Slytherins. He also noticed, much to his chargin, that Weasley had gotten down and was watching with narrowed eyes and a bright red blush._

_"Now tell us! What did you do to her?" _

_It took Scorpius a while to reply and when he did, his voice was muffled from the pain he was in. _

_"I didn't do anything to your cow of a cousin, Potter!" Suddenly, James felt himself being kicked from both sides from both of the boys. He winced in pain at each kick; he knew he'd feel that later. He glared up at them as he rolled onto his side and as he did so, Albus kicked him square in the face. He groaned and grabbed at his nose, which was now bleeding profusely._

_Suddenly, Scorpius felt himself flying backwards, hitting the ground with a muffled thud. He groaned in pain and opened his eyes to see James's wand pointed right at him still, while Albus had lowered his. "James, be careful. You don't want another detention..." his younger brother warned, his voice soft._

_"I don't care about detentions, Al! This prat could have hurt Rose! He's going to pay for it." And with that, James sent another spell towards the Slytherin. Scorpius gasped in pain as it hit him; it sent a burning sensation throughout his body, which followed by him sitting up, about to vomit. He began to vomit up his breakfast, along with blood. _

_"Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy! What is going on here?" Professor Longbottom came running up, Professor Slughorn on his heels. "What do you think you're doing!" Longbottom shouted at James. James simply stared defiantly at him with out saying a word, his wand still outstretched towards Scorpius, who had finally stopped vomitting up blood and was lying on his back, groaning in pain._

_"Expelliarmus!" Professor Longbottom shouted, his own wand directed at James'. The dark-haired boy's wand flew from his hand, but that didn't stop James from continuing to glare at Scorpius. He looked as if he wanted to go over to him and start kicking again. _

_Meanwhile, Professor Slughorn was bent over Scorpius, trying desperately to get the poor boy to his feet. He was still bleeding terribly from the nose and his bottom lip was slip. Not to mention whatever spell James had cast and it's affects, plus his more than likely broken or bruised ribs. "C'mon, m'boy, get up so we can take you to the Hospital Wing." As the Professor tried to pull him up, Scorpius gasped in pain and clenched his teeth. _

_It didn't get better from there; when he finally had gotten to the Hospital Wing a long time later, he was visited by two unlikely people. James and Albus Potter. Scorpius had just woken up and he was still looking poor. When the two came striding in, looking fit for murder, Scorpius began to reach for his wand. However, as he did so, it was magically thrown to the floor by a quick spell from Albus. _

_"Don't even try it, Malfoy," the first year spat. His older brother stalked over but he surprisingly didn't have his own wand out. When he had reached the bed, James grabbed the front of Scorpious's shirt and pulled him forward so their faces were inches apart. _

_"Listen here, prat. If you __**ever**__ do anything to hurt my cousin Rose- or any of the Weasleys or Potters, for that matter- again, I will make it my sole goal in life to make your life a living hell. Even if it's something small, like pushing her off of her broom, or something like hexing her. You will most certainly regret it. Got it?" _

_Scorpius simply stared at him boldly for a few moments before responding. _

_"Yeah, I got it. But I hope you know that your little Rose won't like this; you know how independent she is and so do I. She is going to know that you threatened me and she most certainly will be angry at you for trying to defend her like this. She'll say something about how she can take care of herself. And you know it." His responce was followed by a smirk._

_James was obviously surprised at his responce; he obviously hadn't thought of that._

_"Although I hate to admit it, he's right. James, we can't let Rose find out. She'll notice if Malfoy suddenly stops messing with her; he's been doing it since the first day of school!" Albus's tone was soft, but slightly bitter._

_James let go of Scorpius's shirt for a moment while he pondered this. He looked like he hated what he was about to say._

_"Fine, fine, fine. You can still...mess with her a little. Tease her a bit; but nothing serious. Got it?" James spat, his eyes narrowed as he glared at the Slytherin, who was now smirking._

_"Aye, I got it. Now get out of here- I need my rest." Scorpius winked at the two before turning on his side and closing his eyes._

_James looked as if he wanted to hex him again, but he said nothing more as he turned and left._

_xxx_

But that had been two years ago, during their first year at Hogwarts. Now that he, Rose and Albus were in their third years and James in his fifth lots of things had changed. But the threat James had made to Scorpius still hung silently in the air between them. Scorpius had followed it...sort of. He'd crossed the line a few times and he had most certainly payed for it- oh, but it was worth it. He loved tormenting the red-head.

When Scorpius sighed and looked up at Albus, his eyes were narrowed. "We got detention tomorrow during the Quidditch match, that's all. No need to get your knickers in a knot, Potter. And tell your brother he can just unknot his as well. I don't know why she would act that way, though. We've gotten detention from her idiocy before." At the word 'idiocy', Albus scowled.

"_Her_ idiocy? Don't you mean yours?" Before the blonde had a chance to reply, Albus continued.

"Just leave her, and all of us, alone, will you?" With that, the dark-haired boy turned and strode past Scorpius.

Swearing under his breath, Scorpius turned and began to walk towards the Great Hall. He was starving and he still had to talk to his friends about not being able to play in the match tomorrow. _This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? _he thought bitterly.

(( Reviews are much appreciated! C: ))


	2. Chapter 2: Friendships

( I'm trying to keep everyone happy by updating quickly. :3 So, here's Chapter two! )

"Hey, Scorpius." The blonde nodded to whoever had greeted him. At the moment, he didn't really feel like talking to anyone. Why would he? Sitting down beside a random Slytherin-perhaps it was Oliver Parkison, judging by the dark hair-Scorpius began to place bits of food onto his plate. Most of the other students had already left. As Scorpius looked around the Great Hall, he noticed Rose Weasley was still there along with her giant mob of a family surrounding her. Her brother, Hugo, seemed to look quite sad about something. She probably broke the news to him; hell, that probably won't be half as bad as what Richards is going to feel like when I tell him. Or what I feel when he's murdering me.

Scorpius continued to study the large family, a small frown on his face. Merlin, do they ever stop multiplying? Scorpius wondered. Suddenly, he heard someone snickering beside him and turned to see Lorcan Scamander hiding a smile, Nikki Dawson simply staring with an amused expression, Oliver Parkison chuckling behind his hand and Renee Goyle chortling openly. "What?" he snapped, sensing the laughter was directed at him. Renee pointed towards the front of his robes and Scorpius followed her gaze, which was followed by a few choice swear words. While looking towards the Potters and Weasleys, he hadn't notice that some mashed parsnips had fallen from his fork and onto his robes. He quickly began to wipe it away, a faint blush showing up on his pale skin.

"Too busy staring at your girlfriend to notice your food wasn't going towards your mouth, Scorp?" said Oliver with anther chuckle.

"I don't know what your talking about, Parkison. I wasn't staring at anyone."

"Oh, come of it! You were staring at that Weasley girl!"

"Why would I stare at her, you idiot?"

"Well, maybe because you have the hots for her? You always have and we all know it! But c'mon, Scorp. You can do way better than a-"

Before Oliver had a chance to finish, Scorpius had flung a bit of mashed parsnips towards him, hitting him square in the face.

"You were saying?" Scorpius said with a smirk. "You prat!" Oliver shouted as he wiped the food from his face.

Scorpius chuckled softly before taking a sip of his pumpkin juice, the smirk taking hold on his face. Although, he couldn't hide the blush that was blazing on his face. To make it worse, it was very noticeable on his pale face.

"Call me what you'd like; I've been called worse."

Soon, the others had went back to talking amongst themselves and Scorpius went back to eating. As inconspicuously as he could, he slowly glanced back up towards the Potters and Weasleys. Suddenly, Scorpius's heart skipped a beat. James Potter had chosen to look up at that second and had met his gaze through narrowed eyes. The blonde held the other boy's gaze for a moment before looking away and pretending to be very interested in the food on his plate once more.

For a few moments, that was all he did. He talked idly to the others, but said little, which was unusual for him. Something was obviously bothering him, as Renee pointed out more than once. However, he kept repeating that he was fine. It wasn't until another student came over that things got bad.

"Oi, Malfoy! What took you so long to get here, mate?" Scorpius looked up boredly and a little irritably at the sound of his name. He turned to see none other than Alan Richards coming towards him. Oh great-that is exactly who I wanted to see.

"I was in McGonagall's office...again." The platinum blonde turned back to his food, which he was now picking aimlessly at. He heard a chuckle coming from Richards as the older student sat beside him.

"Yeah, I heard about that-Scamander told me about it."

"Lorcan, I assume?"

"Obviously-I don't associate with his brother. I try my best to stay away from Gryffindors." Scorpius noticed out of the corner of his eyes Lorcan narrow his own eyes-Scorpius knew that Lorcan didn't like the other Slytherins making fun of his twin brother, who had been placed in Gryffindor. Sure, the two were pretty different, but they were still brothers and Lorcan was always defending Lysander. After a moment, Scorpius turned his attention back to Alan, who was talking as if nothing had happened.

"Anyway, he said you and Weasley got into another spat." Alan shook his head. "You need to cool it with her, Malfoy. You are going to end up crossing the line and getting kicked off the Quidditch team or something. And we don't want that, do we?" Alan smirked at his friend as he took a bite of his food.

Scorpius swallowed nervously and he fidgeted slightly in his chair. Unfortunately, that didn't go by without notice from Richards.

"What?" he said through a mouthful of food. Now that Scorpius had gone silent, some of the other Slytherins had started to notice as well. Scorpius glanced around before sighing.

"I erm...can't play tomorrow." Scorpius's voice faltered towards the end and he looked down. He didn't want to see Richards' reaction or anyone elses, for that matter.

"What?" Alan shouted, his voice carrying throughout entire Great Hall, causing many heads to turn their way. Scorpius ducked his head in both embarrassment as well as slight fear.

"I can't play. I have detention." Scorpius kept his voice quiet.

"What the hell, Malfoy! What am I supposed to do with that? I mean, come on! We can't find a replacement Keeper by then!" Alan looked as if he wanted to hit Scorpius, but a look from Professor McGonagall made him back of a little, as well as quiet down.

"You are going to pay for this, Malfoy. I am going to kill you at the next practice; if you're even still on the team." With that, Alan stood and left the table.

Scorpius swore under his breath and, when he looked up and noticed some of the other Slytherins staring at him, he scowled. "What? Are you going to reprimand me too?" he spat. That made some look away, but not most. Scorpius Malfoy was intimidating, sure, but after something like that happening, he didn't seem nearly as threatening as Richards did.

"No- I'm just shocked he didn't kill you right then and there," said Lorcan with a shrug.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Richards wouldn't dare kill me, no matter what he says; everyone knows I'm the star player. Without me, that team would be nothing."

"Hey! I'm on the team!" Lorcan said, obviously offended by the other boy's comment.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him and laughed.

"Like I said- that team would be nothing without me."

Nikki scoffed and rolled her eyes at the blonde boy.

"I'm happy to see those detentions didn't affect your ego."

Scorpius snorted.

"Why, of course not. I'm a Malfoy; we're known for our ever-lasting egos." He smirked at the group and took another swig of pumpkin juice.

"You didn't seem so smug during our first year when you got beat up by the Potters," Oliver pointed out.

That halted all conversation for a few moments as Scorpius simply stared at Oliver through narrowed eyes.

"You are very lucky McGonagall is still watching for if she wasn't, I'd hex you into next week." Scorpius's threat hung in the air before the blonde stood and began to walk away. He heard someone stand up from the table and run after him, but he continued to walk. The others knew better than to bring that up. Parkison will definitely pay for that, he decided.

"Malfoy! Malfoy! Scorpius! Stop, wait!" A voice behind him called. Scorpius sighed through his nose and slowed down enough that the person could catch up. "What do you want, Nikki?" he snapped.

"Look- Oliver didn't mean to bring that up. He was just kidding around. Don't be mad at him." Scorpius said nothing in reply, which only made the blonde-haired girl sigh. "Stop being a cry-baby, Malfoy- every time someone even mentions what happened, you get all pissed and walk away. I mean, it was funny...from a viewers perspective, that is." Suddenly, she had a wand pointed at her throat.

"Yes, very funny. Almost as funny as what I'm thinking of doing to you." Nikki arched an eyebrow at him.

"Do it, then" Her voice was daring and her eyes were narrowed. She obviously did not fear him as much as some of the other students did.

For a few moments, Scorpius held his wand up at her throat. Then he sighed and lowered it. "It was not funny-got it?" he spat, glancing swiftly at her.

"Whatever you say," she said loftily. As she continued to walk ahead, she gestured for Scorpius to follow. He did just that and was soon walking beside her, his hands stuffed in his trouser pockets. "I hope you know that I don't fear you nearly as much as some of the students." Her words surprised Scorpius and for a few moments he said nothing.

"I noticed; I just never really thought about it." He looked over at her curiously. "Why? I mean, I rule this school-it's my job to strike fear into those around me. You shouldn't be an exception."

"I don't know; you just don't intimidate me. And besides; I've seen you at your worst more than once. After seeing you get beat up, throw up, get sent to the Hospital wing more than once, get hit with a bludger and get a broken nose, get hexed-" she was cut off by Scorpius.

"Get to the point, please."

"Right. What I'm saying is that after seeing you like that, really vulnerable, you don't really scare me. If that makes sense?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Makes perfect sense...I think." He hesitated before adding "Have you really seen me like all of that before?" This was followed by a laugh from Nikki.

"Yes; and worse," she said sarcastically.

Scorpius chuckled and shook his head. "I'm just surprised; I try to never let anyone see me vulnerable, y'know. I have a reputation to keep up."

Nikki hesitated before answering, it seemed. "Yeah, I know."

Just then, Scorpius realized that they had gotten to the Common Room. He rubbed the back of his neck before glancing at Nikki. "Erm..." he obviously didn't know what to say to her at this point. Sensing this, Nikki laughed.

"Good night, Malfoy." With that, she turned and walked away, towards the girls dormitory.

Scorpius watched her walk away with a confused expression on his face. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his platinum blonde hair before turning and walking towards the boys dormitory. When he reached it, he was surprised to find the other third year boys were there already. Walking past them silently, he quickly changed into his pajamas-a green silk, of course- before crawling into bed. He was almost asleep when he heard Oliver's voice call to him from across the room.

"Oi, Malfoy. I just wanted you to know I was just kiddin' earlier."

Silence followed and it seemed like an eternity before Scorpius answered.

"Yeah, I know. It's fine."

xxx

Sunlight coming through the window and hitting Scorpius directly in the face caused the blonde to wake up. At first, he scowled and turned onto his other side, trying desperately to get back to sleep. After a few moments, however, he realized that that was not going to happen and simply gave up. Sitting up, he ran a hand through his tussled hair before glancing around-he was the first up. Great, he thought. Yawning widely, he went into the bathroom and quickly took a shower. By the time he was out and dressed, some of the others had started to get up.

"I never knew you were an early riser, Malfoy," Lorcan said sleepily from across the room.

"Funny."

"Still in a bad mood, I see."

"Shut it, Scamander."

"No, I don't think I will."

"I said shut it!"

Lorcan appeared as if he wanted to say something more, but instead he simply chuckled and began to get dressed. Scorpius knew that Lorcan was only messing with him, but being in a bad mood already, plus having just got up, was not a good time to mess with him. Turning away, he walked towards the door silently.

Leaving the room, Scorpius slowly went downstairs. Thankfully, it was Saturday and the students didn't have class. Usually, Scorpius would be thrilled that it was the weekend. However, seeing as he wasn't able to play-or even watch, for that matter-the match later, there was nothing to be celebrating. Forgetting that it was still wet, Scorpius ran a hand through his hair, only to leave it sticking up in about a hundred directions. Scowling, he sat down on the couch near the fire and stared into it thoughtfully with his arms folded loosely across his chest. Behind him, he heard someone coming down the stairs. He figured it was probably Lorcan or one of the other guys, or maybe even one of the girls, but he still didn't turn. He simply continued to stare into the fire with a thoughtful expression.

"You look kind of cute with wet hair, y'know," said a voice from behind him. Raising an eyebrow, Scorpius turned his head to see Nikki smirking at him. "If only we could do something about that face of yours."

"Gee, thanks," he said sarcastically. He turned away to stare into the fire. He heard Nikki sigh from behind him. Soon, she had walked around from the back of the couch and was sitting down beside him with her knees pulled against her chest. "And I'll have you know my face is perfectly fine; at least the girls seem to think so," he replied back with a sneer of his own.

"Not all girls, trust me," she said with a laugh. When he said nothing, she sighed once more.

"I see you're still in a bad mood."

"You're not the only one who noticed, apparently. Scamander said the same thing." Scorpius's tone was icy.

"Oh, come off it. If you're still mad about what Oliver said yesterday-"

"I couldn't care less what that troll says, to be honest with you. No, I'm mad about the match today. I can't believe McGonagall is doing this to me."

"Well...you kind of deserve it, you know.

"You aren't helping."

"Yeah, well who said I was here to help?" When he didn't reply, she simply continued. "C'mon, just come down to breakfast. Maybe that will perk you up." Nikki grabbed his hand, pulling him until he was standing. She pulled him towards the portrait hole, much to the boy's chargin.

"I'm not even hungry. Just leave me here to plot my revenge against Weasley."

"No."

"Why not?"

She sighed in irritation. "Because you spend far too much time thinking about that girl. Just forget about her. Every time you 'get your revenge' against her, you end up getting detention. It's been the same for the past three years; just give up on her." Turning, Nikki sighed and left the room.

Scorpius stared after her through narrowed eyes before turned around and going back into the Common Room. When he went back inside, he was met by Oliver and Renee who were standing side-by-side with matching smirks. "Have a fight with your girlfriend?" Oliver asked with a laugh.

"What are you blabbering about now, you oaf?"

"Oh nothing, nothing. It's just obvious that you and Nikki are made for each other."

Scorpius turned to glare at him. "Okay, let me get this straight. Yesterday, you say I'm apparently in love with Weasley. Today it's Nikki. Who's next? Lorcan?"

"I sure hope not," Lorcan piped up from his place on the couch. He was sitting as close to the fire as he could get with some type of book in his hand.

Renee laughed and held up her hands innocently. "All we're saying is you two would be cute together." She began to walk with Oliver towards the portrait hole.

Scorpius shouted some type of swear word at the two before going over and sitting down on the floor next to the fire. Lorcan payed him no mind and simply kept reading. After a few minutes, Scorpius entirely forgot he was there. That is, until he heard a page turn behind him. The blonde looked back at him, studying him. "Why aren't you going down to breakfast too?"

"Because I'm not hungry. And plus I'm a little tired of sitting there and hearing everyone make fun of Lysander."

"Oh; yeah, sorry about that. I still can't believe you two, being twins and all, got put into entirely different houses. And I'm even more surprised you didn't get put into Ravenclaw." Scorpius smirked. "What with your egg-head and all. I mean, you're cunning and stuff...but you aren't like the rest of us."

"Thanks, I guess. But I got put in this House for a reason...although, that reason is still a mystery to me as well as everybody else." With a sigh, Lorcan closed his book and put it down. "And I'm plenty cunning, thank you very much."

For a few moments, no one said anything. Then, Lorcan spoke up.

"Come on; as much as I know you don't want to go down and see Richards, you still need to eat. And I actually am a little hungry." He stood and began to walk towards the portrait hole. At first, Scorpius remained seated on the floor. Then he sighed and, admitting to himself that he really was starving, stood up and followed the other student.

( I know it wasn't very eventful. I just kind-of wanted to show everyone Scorpius's relationships with his fellow Slytherins, and introduce a few new characters. It will get better in the next chapter I promise; I already have it done, so I know. ;D This was just a filler, in a way.

Virtual cookies for anyone who reviews! Please and thanks! )


	3. Chapter 3: Hidden Feelings

(( Well, here is the third chapter for you all. I hope you all like it! I also want to thank everyone who reviewed my fic so far; you all are awesome. ^^ Okay, enough of me. Read the chapter, silly gooses! ))

The clock ticked by seemingly slower than it had ever before as Scorpius sat at a desk beside Rose Weasley, seated in front of Professor McGonagall. _Could this possibly get any worse?_ he thought angrily. He had been sitting there for over half-an-hour and his hand was starting to go numb. He continued writing, however. _I will behave myself while at Hogwarts. I will behave myself while at Hogwarts. I will behave myself while at Hogwarts..._

Scorpius couldn't help but look up when he heard frantic shouting and the sound of running of feet just outside of the room. However, the door was closed so he could not see what was going on; although, he really wished he could go look and see. Even McGonagall and Rose had looked up in surprise.

"I will return shortly; keep writing and no talking." The professor stood and rushed towards the door. Scorpius craned his neck to see around her when the door was opened. The only thing he could see were what appeared to be Quidditch robes and someone being carried on a stretcher. After McGonagall had left, Scorpius blinked in surprise.

"I guess someone got hurt," he said, a sneer in his voice. "Maybe it was your brother or cousin," he added, glancing over at Rose to see her reaction. She said nothing, but she stopped writing and he noticed her eyes widened.

"S-shut up. It wasn't Hugo or James-although we both know you'd like it to be."

"Oh, I don't know. You know how us Slytherins can get out there; very violent. Perhaps someone pushed them and they...fell." He let the last word sink in and loved how her eyes got even wider, if that was possible.

"Malfoy, just stop. Shut up."  
"Or maybe they got hit with a bludger and got knocked out. Of course, they would have fallen from their brooms after that, too. Trust me; not a good experience."

"Malfoy!"

Scorpius smirked at her, noticing that she was starting to panic. _Good, _he thought triumphantly. "They could have got a concussion if that is the case, you know. Very messy."

Suddenly, Rose had stood up. Her hands were balled up into fists and she was shaking. Scorpius also noticed, much to his surprise, that her eyes were twinkling with tears.

"What are you going to do, hit me?" he sneered.

Her hand shot into her robes and only a second later she had her wand out, pointed at Scorpius. The blonde laughed and raised an eyebrow at her.

"If you hex me, which I know you want to do, you will only get into more trouble. And heaven forbid Rose Weasley get another detention!" He rolled his eyes. "But go ahead, do it."

Slowly she lowered her wand, her eyes narrowed. "Say _one_ more word about my family and I swear you will regret you. You may have thought what James and Albus did to you was bad, but wait until you see what I can do."

"Fine, I get it. I won't say another word about how two of your most beloved family members might be seriously injured." He winked at her before turned back to his paper.

The doors to the classroom opened to reveal a slightly shaken McGonagall. When she saw Rose, who hadn't gotten back to her seat yet, she blinked. "Miss Weasley; what are you doing up?"

"I was just..."

"No matter-you two need to come with me...something has happened." The two students shared a glance before standing up and following the Headmaster. At first, Scorpius thought nothing of it. However, as they neared the Hospital Wing, he began to get nervous. Of course, he didn't show it. He wasn't going to let Weasley see him like that.

As they went into the Hospital Wing, Scorpius swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. If it had just been one of her family members, why had he been brought? He was just thinking that when he saw the two beds. One bed was surrounded by the Gryffindor Quidditch team and the other by Slytherin. Rose rushed over to the first bed, only to let out a choked sob. "James!" _Well, I guess I was right._ Scorpius thought. He didn't seem too satisfied by that, however. He slowly walked over to the second bed, praying whatever met his eyes wouldn't be too bad.

"Hey Malfoy," said Lorcan sheepishly from the bed. His head was heavily bandaged but it really made no difference, for the blood was still seeping through. He had a bloody nose and a split lip and he was covered with dirt. The boy who was usually quite handsome- _but not as handsome as me,_ Scorpius quickly added in his mind- looked like a wreck. Scorpius blinked in surprise; that was not what he had expected.

"Do I even want to ask what happened?" the blonde said-he hated how his voice was so quiet.

Lorcan gestured with his head, which caused him to breath in sharply and wince, towards the bed next to him. "Well, we both saw the snitch and were chasing after it. We reached for it together and didn't realize our brooms were so close together and they kinda...hit each other. And then we fell." Lorcan smiled sheepishly and shrugged, which seemed to pain him for he winced once more. "Madame Pomfrey said I'm lucky to have only hurt my head..." he trailed off and looked down. "I'm better off than Potter, at least."

At this, Scorpius blinked in surprise and glanced over towards the other bed. He could barely see, but what he could see wasn't very good. Lots of blood. Everywhere. And he didn't look conscious. Scorpius swallowed and looked away, a bit paler than before. Although he would never admit to it, he hated blood. Even seeing the blood on Scamander wasn't all that great for him. The blonde looked around, trying to clear his head. He noticed for the first time that Lysander, Lorcan's twin, was standing with the other Slytherins that were surrounding Lorcan's bed. He looked as pale as Scorpius did. Oliver, Nikki, Renee and Alan were all there, as were the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"Man, I'm really sorry to hear that. Are you gonna be okay?" Scorpius tried to keep his voice even-after seeing all of this blood, he felt a little light-headed himself. He slowly turned to look back at Lorcan.

"I sure hope so- Madame Pomfrey only talked to me for a second while she tended to my head. She really wanted to get to Potter." Lorcan sounded almost...apologetic. This caused Scorpius to raise an eyebrow questioningly at him, but the dark-haired boy only looked away.

"Okay, get away, all of you! Mr. Scamander needs his rest, as does Mr. Potter." Madame Pomfrey's voice suddenly cut through the silence that had hung in the air. She began to shoo away the two groups, pushing them towards the doors.

"Aw, come on Madame Pomfrey! There is no way I'm getting to sleep right now! Can't they stay?" Lorcan pleaded.

The woman looked as if she wanted to argue, but instead simply sighed. "Fine. _One _student can stay per person; the rest of you all have to leave." She stood near the doors, waiting for them to pick who would stay.

"...Can Scorpius stay? I want to talk to him." Lorcan's voice was hesitant and he glanced towards the blonde, who looked quite shocked.  
Madame Pomfrey simply shrugged in reply. "As you wish." She turned towards the Gryffindors, who were standing together silently. "And which of you will be staying with Mr. Potter? He might wake up soon and if he does I believe he will appreciate having someone beside him." The group glanced around, silently wondering who would stay.

"I think Rose should stay. I think he'd like seeing her when he wakes up." Albus spoke softly but surely. Everyone looked equally surprised at this; they had assumed Albus would want to stay.

Rose shifted her weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Are you sure, Al?" she asked, her voice just above a whisper. She had tear streaks on her face, as did most of the Gryffindors.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Rose hesitated before nodding and hugging him tightly. "Thanks."

"All right, all right! All of you except for Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley need to get back to your dormitories. It is late and I think we all just need a little rest."

The Slytherins murmured their good byes to Lorcan before leaving the Hospital Wing. Albus hugged Rose once more, as did Hugo and Lily, before following the other Gryffindors out.

Scorpius turned his gaze towards Rose, who was standing near James' bed awkwardly. Madame Pomfrey reappeared with two chairs; she placed one next to each bed silent before exiting the room. The blonde slowly walked over and sat next to Lorcan's bed, his expression a confused one.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

Lorcan seemed confused at first but after a moment realization took hold on his face. "Oh, that. Nothing really. I just didn't want someone else to stay." He shrugged. "Plus I have a feeling you didn't exactly want to go back to the common room and have to deal with Richards. He's pissed we lost; he thinks it's your fault."

Scorpius blinked in surprise. "He does? Well, that's just great," he spat, looking away crossly. He then quickly softened and looked back over at Lorcan. "But what about your brother- didn't you want to talk to him?"

Lorcan looked as if he wasn't sure how to answer at first. When he finally did, his answer shocked Scorpius. "No, not really. I mean...I love Lysander and all but it's just kind of...weird having a twin in Gryffindor while I'm stuck in Slytherin." Lorcan's eyes dropped to his hands, which were in his lap. "I barely get to see him or talk to him anymore, so why talk to him now?"

Scorpius took this in, his eyes locked on the dark-haired boy. "I never really thought about how hard that would be." He smiled slightly in hopes of cheering his friend up. "I'm glad I don't have a brother."

Lorcan smiled faintly, but the smile didn't really reach his eyes.

"So...When do you get out of here, mate?"

"Not sure- Pomfrey wouldn't really give me a straight answer to any of the questions I asked." Lorcan rolled his eyes. "'Stay still and don't talk, Mr. Scamander! You just took a serious fall and I need to bandage you up!'" He laughed at this. "As if I didn't know I just took a fall! I mean I honestly don't get why she was worrying so much. I'm better of than..." his voice trailed off and the same look he had had on his face earlier when he'd mentioned Potter was back. Scorpius raised an eyebrow questioningly at him.

"Do you feel bad or something?" he asked.

Lorcan looked up quickly. "No! No of course not."

Scorpius leaned back in his chair- he could sense Lorcan wanted to say more. "Really?"

"Well...so what if I was? I mean, I'm not some cold-hearted person like most of you Slytherins! You know that, Scorp." The way he said 'you Slytherins' caused Scorpius to lean forward.  
"You talk as if you don't consider yourself one of us. And since when do you have to be cold-hearted to be a Slytherin?" Scorpius's tone was a little defensive.

"I don't! You said yourself this morning that I don't really fit in Slytherin!"  
"I didn't mean it that way, Lorcan. I was just kidding! And besides; you even said that there had to be a reason that you were put in Slytherin. You just haven't figured it out, yet."

Lorcan scoffed. "Yeah, sure. I haven't figured it out in the three years I've been here. What makes you think I'll ever figure it out?"

For a few moments, Scorpius didn't reply. But then, he narrowed his eyes. "I don't know if you ever will. But what I do know is you are avoiding my question." At this, Lorcan shifted uncomfortably. "Do you feel bad for getting Potter hurt?"

Lorcan looked up at the ceiling before answering. "Honestly, yes. I know I should be glad I hurt one of the Gryffindors. But I'm _not_. I feel terrible; I mean, look at him! If I could, I'd switch places with him!"

Scorpius looked at him in shock. "Have you gone insane or did you really hit your head that hard? Why in Merlin's name would you ever feel bad for Potter? He deserved it, the prat!"

"That is exactly what I'm talking about, Malfoy! I _don't_ think he's a prat; he's just some kid who I hurt. Why should I hate him? Just because he's a Gryffindor? I don't think that that is a good enough reason!" Lorcan spat out the words, obviously irritated.

Scorpius narrowed his eyes and didn't respond for a couple of minutes. He places his eyes on the floor, studying the pattern of the tile. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak again, he heard a muffled and slurred voice from behind him.

"Are you two idiots finally done arguing? Yes? How lovely; maybe now I can't actually get some rest." Scorpius turned to see James Potter sitting up and opening his eyes, looking quite dazed and confused.  
"James! You're awake!" Rose, who Scorpius had completely forgotten was present, rushed up to James and hugged him tightly. James gasped in pain, which caused Rose to back away. She was obviously happy, however.

"I would still be sleeping if it weren't for those two. Yelling like an old married couple." James shot a glare at the two of them before trying to sit up some more. He gasped in pain at that.

"Watch your mouth, Potter. I can knock you back out right quick." Scorpius's tone was irritated.

James scoffed but said nothing more. He glanced over at Lorcan, a confused expression on his face. "I heard what you said; I'm honestly surprised. I thought all you Slytherins thought that my family and I were scum."

"We do." Scorpius continued to glare at him, but Lorcan sighed.

"Stop, Scorpius." Lorcan turned back to James with a shrug. "I don't; although, you do seem to be rather full of yourself." This caused James to roll his eyes. "But, then again, so is Scorpius." That brought out a smile on everyone-everyone, that is, except Scorpius. "Funny," he snapped.

"Aw, don't be a git, Scorp. I was just kidding," Lorcan said softly, nudging is friend slightly. Scorpius sighed and rolled his eyes in reply.

"So, are you...okay, Potter?" Lorcan's tone was soft and curious-he actually sounded a bit worried.

"I guess so-I mean, I hurt like hell but it isn't anything I can't handle."

Suddenly, Madame Pomfrey came rushing into the room. "Mr. Potter! Finally, you're awake." She glanced towards Rose and Scorpius. "You two can leave, now. It's rather late and these two need their rest."

Rose looked ready to protest. "But-"

"Go on, you two. Get back to your dormitories."

Scorpius sighed and glanced at Lorcan. "I'll...talk to you tomorrow." He began to walk towards the door, following Rose. Soon, he found himself in the empty, silent hall with Rose. He glanced at her swiftly before beginning to walk away.

"Malfoy...wait." He kept walking, ignoring her voice. He heard her sigh and then her footsteps racing to catch up with him. Soon, she was beside him. "Look...I just want you to know that your friend- Lorcan is his name, right? If he's anything like his brother, he has to be rather nice. But anyway; he was right. Just because we're Gryffindors doesn't mean we're scum."

Scorpius scowled. "I don't need you to preach to me, Weasley. I know scum when I see it"

The girl shook her head and began to walk away. "I'm just saying...maybe you should listen to him. He seems like a smart kid."

Scorpius glanced back at her, watching her retreating back go down the empty hall. He rolled his eyes before walking in the direction of his dormitory. If he was lucky, Richards would already be asleep. He really didn't feel like listening to another lecture.

(( Did you like it? ^^ Hope so; I worked hard on it! I wanted to add a little something to make it more interesting. I have the next chapter all planned out; just got to type it!

Virtual brownies for everyone who reviews! :3 ))


	4. Chapter 4: Questions and Confusion

(( Hello, all. (: Yesss, I know I have not updated in...a long time. However, there was a lot going on and I wasn't able to update, really. I'm back now, though, and that's all that matters! ^^

Oh, and I have good news: I now have an editor. Their identity will be revealed in the next chapter, I hope. They are amazingly nice and are doing a great job, so far! Enjoy the story. :D ))

"Malfoy, get up! Now!" Scorpius heard the voice shouting at him from the doorway, but he didn't get up. He simply kept his eyes tightly shut and buried his face in his pillow. He pulled his blankets over his head, refusing to move. It was Sunday, after all.

"Malfoy!" The voice was getting closer and angrier. Suddenly the blankets were yanked away from Scorpius's head, as well as from underneath him, causing him to roll off his bed and onto the floor.

"What the hell?" he shouted. He looked up to see Alan Richards looming over him. "What do you want?"

"You have five minutes to get ready, we're holding try-outs. Now that Scamander is hurt we've got to find someone to replace him temporarily. There is no way he's gettin' better by the next match."

"Why do I have to go?" Scorpius snapped. "_You're_ the captain, after all. None of us have anything to do with Seeker try-outs."

Richard's glare could have killed and Scorpius couldn't help but flinch back. "I said get ready-that means now. And, just for back talking me, we're going to practice too. That way you will have a reason to be there." With that, he turned and left the room. Scorpius swore under his breath before standing and beginning to get ready. He noticed the looks he was getting from the other boys, which he simply ignored as he got dressed. Soon, he found himself walking down the stairs slowly. He was in no mood to go practice. Nor was he in a mood to listen to yet another lecture from Richards.

"Finally," said Richards as he stood up from the couch. He strode over to Scorpius before pulling him towards the portrait.

"Ouch-hey!" Scorpius pulled his arm free before shoving past the Quidditch captain and going through the portrait hole himself. The blonde was muttering various curse words under his breath, his expression dark. "This is the stupidest thing you've ever done, Richards. You're just mad that we lost yesterday," he muttered, remembering what Lorcan had told him yesterday. "And besides; how do you know if Scamander will be ready by the next match or not? He might be-and then what? We'll have done this for nothing."

Richards glared at him, his jaw clenched. "I'd watch your mouth, Malfoy. You don't want to get me any angrier than I already am. This can be a tryout for Keeper, if you keep talking."

Scorpius looked as if he wanted to reply. However, he simply held his tongue and continued walking. He found that when around Richards, it was best to just stay quiet.

Soon, the two Quidditch players found themselves at the Quidditch pitch. The rest of the team had already arrived as well five other students who were planning on trying out for the temporary position of Seeker. Some other Slytherin students had gathered in the stands to watch. Scorpius could see Lorcan sitting in between Nikki and Oliver.

"All right, all trying out for the Seeker position mount your brooms and get in the air. Give me three rounds around the pitch. Hurry it up!" Alan shouted. Scorpius watched them as they begun to fly around the pitch. One girl was flying quite clumsily. She kept bumping into the other students and almost fell off her broom twice. Two of the boys kept hitting one another purposely-it appeared to Scorpius as if they were brothers or something of the sort. It was obvious that they were purposely trying to mess one another up. Turning his gaze to the other two students, one boy and one girl, Scorpius noticed that they were both flying smoothly and easily. Soon, all five had landed and were standing in front of Alan with nervous expressions.

"You, you're done." The captain pointed towards the clumsy girl before turning to the two brothers. Now that they were up close, Scorpius could see that they were twins. "And so are both of you. I don't want any more idiots on this team and with the way you two were acting, I can see that both of you are stupid." The three students looked shocked, but they oblidged and went towards the stands without another word. Scorpius watched silently as Alan turned to the two remaining students. He began to put them through a few more various tests in which they both came out practically equal. The girl, a fifth year, was faster but the boy, a fourth year, seemed to be stronger. Suddenly, Alan called them both back down. They were both breathing heavily but neither had complained once.

"All right; we're going to set a snitch loose. Be the first person to find it and you'll get the spot. Got it? Good." He then turned to Scorpius. "Malfoy, go let the snitch out!"

Scorpius sighed and, holding back the remark that was itching to come off of his tongue, walked over to the crate where everything was kept. He crouched down beside it before opening it. He opened a small compartment before reaching in and grabbing the small golden ball with delicate golden wings. Standing up, he kicked the crate closed before opening his hand. The snitch fluttered it's wings before hovering lazily in the air for a moment, then taking off.

The two students mounted their brooms as quickly as they could. The girl was up in the air a few seconds before the boy and she shot in the direction that the snitch had gone, leaving the boy in her wake. Scorpius folded his arms across his chest as the two flew after the snitch. The two rammed against one another's sides every so often, sending the other person flying to one side. One would get ahead of the other, and then the other would gain speed and they would be right next to each other again. Over and over this happened and after a while, Scorpius found himself slipping into the stage of boredom.

It was over within a few minutes.

The two students landed in front of Scorpius and Alan. The girl was wearing a huge grin and, in her clenched hand, she held the snitch. The boy was staring at his shoes angrily.

"Well, that solves that. Sorry, kid, but she beat you." Alan thumped the boy on the back before turning away from him and turning to the girl. "I hope you're ready to practice. Thanks to Malfoy, here, running his mouth this morning, we're going to practice for a while." A collective groan from the team sent Malfoy scowling.

"I-"

"Shut up, Malfoy. Everyone, get your brooms and get in the air!"

Over an hour later, Scorpius was slumped over the table in the Great Hall. Every movement he made caused him to wince slightly; they had practiced harder than usual and Malfoy was paying for it, as was the rest of the team. Every chance they got they made sure to remind him that it was entirely his fault.

Picking at the food in front of him, he didn't even look up when a group of people sat down around him.

"He sure looks tired. I bet you're glad you didn't have to practice, eh Lorcan?" Renee's voice floated up to Scorpius, but he pretended not to hear.

Scorpius felt himself frown and roll his eyes, but made no reply when he heard Lorcan laugh and agree. He was too tired to do anything more.

"Aw, come on Scorpius. Don't look so down." Scorpius couldn't help but look up at the sound of a voice behind him. Nikki stood there, a faint smile playing on her lips. She sat down to the right of Scorpius, clearly amused at the boy's tired appearance.

"You'd look down, too, if you'd been out there practicing. But _no_, you and the others were all nice and comfy up there in the stands."

"Well, I don't know about _comfy_; after all, those wooden seats aren't exactly comfort-"

"Shut up, Nikki." Scorpius rubbed the sides of his temples, closing his eyes. "Please?"

Nikki smiled faintly, but simply nodded and said nothing more. Although she wasn't speaking to him, her eyes were still on Scorpius, as if she was studying him. When Scorpius finally opened his eyes and looked up, he noticed this. He frowned slightly and looked away, just as Nikki did the same.

"So, are all of you ready for the Hogsmeade trip next weekend?" Renee asked suddenly, a grin forming on her lips.

"Hogsmeade? Next weekend?" Scorpius asked, his brow furrowing.

"Yes! I thought you would have known; the first trip is next weekend. Are you going?" Renee asked.

"Probably; I mean, who isn't? It's our first Hogsmead trip ever; we've all been waiting for two years for this."

"I'm not," Lorcan replied smoothly. His expression was impassive and uncaring, but there was a certain sadness to his gaze. The group turned to look at him, clearly shocked judging by their expressions.

"What?" Oliver asked, his eyes wide. "Why the bloody hell not?"

"I'm busy this weekend, if you must know. I'll just go next time." He shrugged slightly and smiled half-heartedly at the others.

"Oh, come off it. What could be so important to you that it'll cause you to miss our first Hogsmead visit?" Scorpius asked.

Lorcan seemed to almost hesitate before speaking. "I need to-" another pause, "catch up on my school work."

"Lorcan, you always have all of your work done before the weekend even gets here. Don't lie," Nikki countered.

"Well...did you ever think that maybe I have more than usual?"

"No, but even if you did it wouldn't keep you from the Hogsmead visit. You'd get it done. What's the real reason?" Nikki was clearly not going to believe him, no matter what he said.

"Perhaps I just wanted to rest this weekend. I just barely skimmed by Madame Pomfrey's standards to leave the Hospital Wing, you know, and she only let me out on the strict rule to not push my limits. Going down to Hogsmeade would be pushing it, I'd say." Lorcan sat there, staring at Nikki with a firm gaze.

Nikki narrowed her eyes. "Hogsmeade wouldn't be pushing it." Instead of repling, he simply continued to stare at her with his cold eyes. He wasn't backing down. After a few moments, Nikki sighed. "Resting. Fine, fine, whatever you say." Actually, she didn't get it at all, and she still didn't quite believe him. However, she would have to take his word for now.

Lorcan nodded once, then stood up. "I'll see you guys later." Before he could walk away, Scorpius looked up.

"Where are you going?"

"The library," Lorcan mumbled, although his mind seemed to be elsewhere.  
"Do you want some company?" Nikki asked, sitting up slightly. "I doubt anyone will be in there, right now."  
"Exactly." With that, Lorcan began to walk away, his hands in his pockets.

As he did so, Scorpius turned to the others. "What's his problem?" he asked, frowning slightly. His mind drifted to their conversation they'd had the previous night, about him 'not fitting in' with the rest of the Slytherins. Scorpius wondered if that could possibly be the reason for Lorcan's current mood.

"No clue, but he needs to get over whatever it is," Oliver muttered. Renee nodded in agreement and soon the two were locked into a conversation about what they would be doing during the Hogsmeade trip.

While they did that, Nikki turned to Scorpius.

"I think Lorcan is mad at us," she said softly. She sounded sad.

Scorpius shrugged. "He's always angry about something, so I wouldn't worry about it."

"Scorpius, you can't believe his stupid excuse; you're smarter than that. He never acts like this. I'm worried about him and you can't deny that you aren't, too."

"I can deny a lot of things, actually." Nikki replied by hitting him in the back of the head. "Ouch! I was just-"  
"Can you be serious for five seconds, please?"

Sighing, Scorpius rolled his eyes. "All right, calm down, Nik. If you're so worried, how about you go find him and ask him what's _really_ wrong, considering you refuse to believe what he said."

At this, Nikki nodded. "Fine, but you have to come with me."  
He groaned and made a face at her words, but instead of replying or giving Scorpius a chance to protest, Nikki had grabbed his hand and was pulling him towards the door. "Don't whine. Lorcan would do the same for you."

As they walked through the corridors, they came across few people. Most people were either outside, enjoying the weekend or down in the Great Hall. When they finally made it to the library, they were both silent. Scorpius strode into the large room, his eyes darting to every corner in search of their friend. He frowned suddenly. "Where is he?" The library was silent, which was expected, but it was also empty.

"I don't know...Maybe he's in the back?" Nikki offered softly. She didn't sound hopeful. Following Scorpius into the room, she walked towards the back and looked into each section of books. Still no Lorcan.  
"The Restricted Section?" Scorpius suggested.

Without a word, Nikki walked over to the desk in the front of the room. There was no Librarian behind it, thankfully, so when she reached behind the desk and grabbed a large piece of parchment from it, there was no one to scold her. Scanning it over quickly, she shook her head and put the parchment back where she'd found it. "You have to sign in when you go back there," she began, noting Scorpius' confused expression. "His name isn't on the list."

The pair were speechless for a few moments. Scorpius turned his gaze to the floor, thinking. "Maybe...maybe he left already?" he said helplessly.

"We were only a minute behind him; we would have passed him in the halls, or something."

Despite knowing she was right, Scorpius wanted to believe otherwise. "Then he lied to us, again?"

"I guess so. Where do you think he is, if he's not here?"

Scorpius simply shook his head. "Honestly, I have no clue. And I'm not about to go searching this entire castle for him, either."  
"But Scorp, he'd-"

"Do the same for me? At this point, what with all this random anger and lies, I'm having second thoughts about that."

"Can we at least search the common room and dormitory for him, then? We don't have to search the whole castle for him, since you're such a cry-baby. I want to know what's going on, Scorp. Don't you?"  
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Not really; did you ever think that maybe Lorcan just needs some time to himself? That he wants to be alone? After spending this long with you, I'm starting to think of doing the same."

At this, it was Nikki's turn to scowl. "Wouldn't he have told us that? It's _Lorcan_, he never acts like this. There is obviously something wrong with him." She seemed to be ignoring Scorpius' comments.

"Come off it, Nik. Until I get some solid proof that there is something wrong with Lorcan, I'm not going to care. And you shouldn't, either."

Nikki stared at Scorpius, his eyes as cold as her expression. "Sorry for being a good friend. Not that you'd know anything about that." Turning on her heel, she began to stalk away.

For a moment, Scorpius stood there, uncaring. His mind was reeling. Was what she had said true? Was he really that bad of a friend? It wasn't as if Scorpius cared, of course; why should he? However, Scorpius claimed to be great at everything, so friendship had to be included in that, didn't it? This whole thing had turned into being about Scorpius, suddenly, instead of Lorcan. He wanted to prove Nikki wrong. Sighing softly and shaking his head to himself, the blonde began to follow Nikki out of the library.

"Okay, okay! We can look in the common room and in the dormitory, if it will make you happy."

Nikki spun around, frowning slightly as if she didn't quite believe his words.  
Scorpius sighed softly. "Lorcan wo_uld_ do the same for me, like you said. Both of you have something messed up with your minds that actually makes you care about people. The least I could do is look for him and make sure he's okay."

Nikki scoffed at his words. "Did you ever think that maybe we're the normal ones, and that _you_ have something messed up with _your _mind?" Before he had a chance to reply, Nikki continued. "Of course you didn't; you're a Malfoy, who apparently have nothing wrong with them." Rolling her eyes, she turned and continued walking.

"Well, of course we're perfect, thanks for noticing," he replied cheekily, speeding up until he was walking alongside her.

When Nikki didn't reply, Scorpius simply smirked. "Don't get your knickers in a knot, Dawson. Just be thankful that I am not only gracing you with my mere presence, but I am also going to search for our long lost friend with you."

"Shut up, Malfoy. I'd rather do this alone, honestly."

"I doubt that; don't deny your love for me. None of the other girls do."

"Oh, believe me, I'm not denying anything."

Scorpius shook his head, but gave no reply. Nikki seemed to be one of the few girls that _hadn't_ fallen under his Malfoy charm. Well, her and those Potters and Weasleys, of course. Especially Rose. Scorpious had to refrain from scowling at the mere thought of her. When Nikki noticed the dark look in his eyes, she gave him a curious look but said nothing.

The two students finally made it to the dungeons and the familiar, slightly damp smell hit their noses in welcome. Scorpius' eyes traveled around the common room, but there was still no sign of Lorcan. Shaking his head slightly, the two shared a glance before Scorpius began making his way towards the stairs that would lead his to the boy's dormitory. "I'll be right back," he called over his shoulder to Nikki.

With a small frown on his face, Scorpius pushed open the door and stepped into the room. Without even shooting a glance towards in the direction of the boys who were sitting on their beds, talking to one another, Scorpius' eyes were locked on Lorcan's bed. Scorpius couldn't hold back a scowl. It was empty and still neatly made as it had been since Lorcan had woken up early in the morning. Turning towards the other boys, his eyes were dark.  
"Have any of you seen Lorcan?" he muttered, his tone quite icy.

"Nope, not since this morning."  
"I see...thanks, I guess." Scorpius turned on his heel and angrily went down the steps.

When he reached Nikki, he sat down beside her on the couch that was placed in front of the fire.  
"Was he up there?" she asked, although she could already tell what his answer, judging by the expression he was wearing.

"No."

Nikki ran a hand through her golden locks, her eyes narrowed. "What now?"

Scorpius looked at her through the corner of his eyes. "Nothing. He'll turn up eventually, I suppose."

"And if he doesn't?"  
"He will. It's Lorcan; he's probably crawled up under a desk reading."

Nikki sighed before standing up and flattening her skirt down. "I hope you're right." With that, she turned and made her way towards the dormitories.

The common room was silent, except for the faint crackle of the fire in front of him. Sighing softly, Scorpius stared into the flames. "Yeah, me too," he whispered into the air.

(( I hope my comeback was okay. x3 Reviews are much appreciated! Please and thanks! ))


	5. Chapter 5: Answers and More Confusion

_( _Okay, so I'm a terrible author. I'm very sorry to all of the fans of this story, I was unable to update for such a long time. /3 I'll try my absolute hardest to reply quicker from now on. I hope this slightly longer and eventful chapter makes up for it? :] )

_Tap, tap, tap. _

The rain pattered against the windows of the school, and with every raindrop that fell, the nerves of the Third Years rose. Hogsmeade was the only thing on their minds at the moment, and they were all thinking along the same lines. _What if it doesn't stop raining? _The scheduled trip was the next day, on a Sunday, and considering it would be their first ever trip, they did _not _want it to be a rainy day. However, a week had passed, and not one ray of sunshine had broken through the clouds yet. Everyone had already lost hope that it would stop, and were now simply hoping that they would be able to make the best of the trip, despite the rain.

"There are plenty of places to go to get out of the rain. But you can't _not _go, Scorpius!" Nikki said pleadingly.

"Well, _you _might like looking like a wet dog all day, Dawson, but _I _for one, don't. I'd rather stay inside, thank you very much." Scorpius was shaking his head. It wasn't that he really didn't want to go, because he did. But he didn't think it would be all that much fun walking around in the mud, while it poured over their heads.

"What he's really trying to say is that he doesn't want to get his hair wet,"said Lorcan with a small chuckle. Everyone surrounding them laughed and nodded in agreement, and Scorpius merely sneered at the boy sitting next to him.  
"Well, obviously. I mean, I know _some people _don't care about their appearances, but I just happen to care about mine." He said nothing more, and simply looked towards the crackling fireplace in which the small group of Third Years crowded around. The entire castle seemed rather chilled due to the weather, and it did not help that the Slytherin commom room was underground, in the dungeons, which was by far the coldest place in the school. However, when sitting next to a roaring fire, one could hardly notice the chill.

Somehow, the older students did not seem as concerned as the younger ones about the approaching villiage visit. They apparently had gone plenty of times in even worse weather, and did not seem concerned that they might get a litte wet. According to them, it was worth it.

It seemed that aside from Scorpius, all of the others were still planning on going. He felt a small satisfaction that they were so concerned that he accompany them, but he still was unsure. They had a good point; there were plenty of places to go inside, and they probably would hardly get wet. And yet, he stil found himself telling the others he was not going. Whether he was still deciding or not, he found it quite amusing to watch them try and convince him. As if their happiness on the trip depended on him. Which, come to think of it, it probably did.

"Oh, I don't know, guys," he said with a dramatic sigh, interupting Renee yet again trying to convince him.

"Fine, don't go then. We can have plenty of fun without you, I'm sure," Lorcan countered, not looking up from the parchment on which he was scribbling upon. Out of everyone, Lorcan always seemed to know what Scorpius was thinking, and he rarely fell for the blonde boy's tricks or hidden motives. And that was something Scorpius both liked and disliked about him.

"I highly doubt that. But I'll think about it, how's that? And what are you writing, a novel?" Scorpius leaned towards him, trying to get a better look at what Lorcan was writing, but the other boy quickly snatched up the pale parchment from the table. Rolling it up, he narrowed his eyes.

"No. And I'd appreciate it if you kept your pale little nose out of my business, thank you very much."

A hush fell over the group, but Scorpius merely laughed the words off, rolling his eyes. "You mean my perfectly proportioned, lightly, but perfectly toned nose, right?"

For a few moments, Lorcan just looked at Scorpius, who stared right back, as if challenging him to say something more. Finally, Lorcan's face broke into a small, hesitant smile. "No, I didn't mean that, but take it however you'd like, Malfoy. See you guys later," he said before standing up and walking up the stone steps towards the portrait hole.

"What is his problem lately?" Oliver muttered as the portrait slammed shut once more. He was shaking his head. "He never used to talk to _anyone_ like that, let alone _you_Scorpius."

Scorpius exchanged a look with Nikki before quickly looking away. He knew that they were both thinking along the same lines. They had still not confronted Lorcan about last weekend, about where he had disappeared off to that day. Nor about his odd mood swings and behavior as of late. For the past week, he had had the same odd behavior, but all they had done was talk about confronting him, instead of actually taking action. They didn't want to upset him by asking, or push him away either. But it was obvious to everyone that something was off with him, lately.

"Maybe he's just dealing with stuff, who knows," said Nikki, looking away with a thoughtful expression.

"Well, he needs to get over whatever it is, and stop acting like that," Renne replied icily, her dark eyes narrowed. Flipping her long, shockingly straight black hair over her shoulder, she stood up. "I'm going for a walk, anyone up to join me?" she asked. Oliver didn't even seem to hesitate before standing up to join her. Scorpius merely shook his head without a word; his mind was obviously elsewhere. Nikki hadn't even seemed to have heard her, and continued to stare into the flames rolling around in the fireplace. Renee rolled her eyes and silently left the Common Room, Oliver right on her heels.

"You haven't talked to him either, have you?" Nikki said softly, finally turning to Scorpius. She had an odd look on her face.

"Er, no, I haven't. But have you thought about it this way - what if he doesn't want to talk about it? Don't you think he would have tried to talk to someone if there really was something wrong."  
Nikki frowned at him, and gave him a look of irritation. "Malfoy, we _both _know something is wrong with him. You can't deny that."  
"Well, no, but-"

"No, listen. We need to talk to him, this could be serious. He's acting weird, he's not himself. We owe it to him as friends to help him out with whatever he's dealing with."  
Scorpius groaned, leaning back into the overly plump armchair in which he was seated. "There you go again, talking about all this friendship nonsense. Who cares? I understand somethings wrong with him, but he'll come to us when he's ready."

Nikki simply shook her head before standing up. "I'm going to look for him. You can join me if you want, but I highy doubt you do, seeing as you don't value friendship as anything of importance."

Scorpius stared at her as she looked at him expectantly. He didn't understand her, sometimes. How did someone like _her_ get Sorted into Slytherin. Sometimes he wondered if the Sorting Hat had made a mistake in their First Year. Nikki was cunning, yes, and could be sly as a fox whenever she wanted to be. But she was hardly like some of the others in their House; mean, cold-spirited, dark-souled, and whatever other true things the other Houses liked to say about them. Somehow, though, she had been placed along with the rest of them. Unlike Lorcan, though, she didn't seem unhappy in Slytherin.

_Thankfully,_ Scorpius thought. _Because I don't know how much more of Lorcan's attitude I can take. If she starts acting like that too, I must just throw myself off the Astronomy Tower. _

Suddenly, a loud, dramatic and slightly irritated sigh broke through his thoughts. Nikki was standing there, her arms folded and her food tapping away at the marble floor. "Well? Instead of sitting there like an troll, could you at least tell me if you're coming or not?"

Scorpius scowled but stood. "Fine, fine. But you can do all of the talking. I'm just coming because I'd like to hear for myself what his problem is."

Nikki smiled cooly at him, her expression still irritated. "Of course you are."

The library, the greenhouses, the owlery, and everywhere else they checked, they found no sign of Lorcan. Scorpius was grumbling about wasting time by the time they had made it to the Grounds, and it was obvious that Nikki was losing hope as well.

"Okay, okay. If we don't find him out here, we'll go back inside and give up. Just stop whining, for Merlin's sake."  
Scorpius scowled, but the effect wasn't exactly the same considering rain water was dripping down his nose and from his hair. "Why would he be out here? It's raining, and I'm already soaking wet. If he's been out here this entire time, he probably drowned. Can't we just go back now?"

"No. As you so kindly put it earlier, Mafoy, I look like a wet dog. But you don't hear me crying about it. You can fix your hair after we find him. Why would we give up now, anyway?"

It seemed as if the scowl had been cemented to Scorpius' face. They passed a large tree by the lake, under which a small group of people sat, chattering happily. They all appeared completely dry, and Scorpius quickly wished he knew whatever spell or charm they were using to keep themselves dry. "Because this is stupid. And pointless. I mean, aside from those people over there, there isn't anyone out here anyway. Lorcan is not stupid enough to come out here, during a storm."

"Uhm, excuse me? I hate to ask, but does that mean you're calling me stupid?" a quiet, but slightly amused voice called over from underneath the tree. Scorpius and Nikki stopped dead in their tracks, and spun around.

"Lorcan?" Nikki asked, narrowing her eyes against the rain. It was rather hard to see through the curtain of water in front of them, but Scorpius knew he would recoginize that voice anywhere. After all, he had known it for three years.

"Uhm, yes?" The tall, slightly slender figure of Lorcan stood up, detatching itself from the rest of the group, who had suddenly become hushed. He strode over to the two Slytherins, who were standing quite still a good distance away.

"What are you doing out here? And who are those people?" It was obvious Nikki could not see who he had been sitting with, and it wasn't until he was close enough that they could actually see Lorcan, who looked rather pale, and sheepish.

"I fancied some fresh air. I could ask the same of you two; it sounds as if you were looking for me?" Scorpius did not miss how he did not answer both of her questions, and he narowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Fresh air? Lorcan, it's storming! And yes, we were looking for you. We-" she hesitated, looking at Scorpius, who still was saying nothing, before continuing. "We've been wanting to talk to you, actually."  
"About?" Lorcan was looking rather suspicious himself now.

"Well, you've been acting strangely, Lorcan. And don't deny it, either!" she said as he opened his mouth to protest. "Everyone's noticed, even Malfoy, and you know how he is about other people's feelings." She merely ignored the look Scorpius shot her, and continued.

"You've been getting so angry lately, and over the stupidest of things, too. You barely talk anymore, and when you do you act all cold and bitter and mean. And that's when you're actually around us; most of the time, we can't even find you, you just disappear! When we ask you where you've been going, you lie to us. This is the first time we've been able to find you, actually. Lorcan, we know something's wrong. Please, just tell us."

Scorpius noted that Nikki seemed genuinely concerned about Lorcan and whatever was wrong with him, and he began to wonder if he even care at all. He told himself, for comfort more than anything else, that he did care. Just a little bit, though. Why else would he have marched all around the castle, and through the rain, after all?

Lorcan stared at the two of them, his expression a mixture of emotions. He seemed to be thinking about everything Nikki had just said. Finally, he glanced over his shoulder, looking towards the blurred figures of the people who he had been speaking with with a thoughtful expression. "Why do you even care?" he muttered, turning his gaze back around to them.

"Because you're our friend, Lorcan," Nikki said, a confused note to her voice.

"What about _you _Scorpius? Why are you standing here getting soaked to bone? And don't tell me any nonsense about caring about me, or my feelings, because I am quite sure that you don't. We might be friends, but I happen to know that you don't value anyone's friendship as anything important." His words were flat and cold, and his eyes were narrowed.

Scorpius had no answer for a few moments. If he was being honest with himself, he was in complete shock. Where had that come from? Lorcan was generally good-natured and friendly, despite his taunting and sharp tongue sometimes. "Lorcan, I want to know what is wrong with you. And, mostly, what idea that has gotten into your head that tells you that it's okay to speak to a Malfoy like that." His temper was wearing thin, clearly. "So, quit being smart with me and tell us what's wrong," he added a moment later, a little more kindly.

Lorcan scowled at him, but then sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He dropped his gaze to the ground, his own temper apparently having disappeared. "I-,"

Suddenly, three more figures stood up behind Lorcan, apparently wondering what was going on. They began to walk closer, and Lorcan stopped in the middle of speaking when he heard them approaching. "You two should go. Now," he said, his expression almost pleading.

Scorpius was about to ask why, but stopped short when he saw the three approaching figures. One was Lorcan's twin, Lysander, who wore an expression of confusion. "Lorcan, what do they want?" His tone was not hostile, but merely curious. At the sight of the second and third persons, however, Scorpius' blood began to boil.

"Potter? Weasley?"

Albus Potter stared at Scorpius with venom in his gaze, his bright green eyes narrowed.

"What are you two doing here?" Rose said, her expression a mixture of Albus' and Lysander's; both curious and slightly hostile.

Scorpius could not help but look from the group of Gryffindors to Lorcan and back again. "Scamander, what the hell do you think you're doing? Why are you with _them, _of all people?"

Lorcan said nothing for a long couple of moments, but when he finally did his voice was soft. "Well, considering Lysander is my brother, I figured I should spend some time with him for once. And if you take into considering that these two are his friends, it's not very surprising to see me in their company as well." He finally met Scorpius' gaze defiantly, as if daring him to say something back.

Scorpius was taken aback. After all, hadn't Lorcan just said not even a few weeks before that he didn't feel bothered to speak to his twin, since they were in different Houses? "So, is this where you've been going? To hang out with your brother, and these filthy little-"

"I'd watch your mouth, Malfoy, if you know what's good for you," Lysander muttered, his expression now darker than it had been moments before. "The only reason I'm not hexing you for trying to insult my friends is because, for some unknown reason, my brother is friends with you. I wouldn't do that to him." With that, he turned to Lorcan. "I'm going back up to the castle; I'll talk to you tomorrow, perhaps we can meet up in Hogsmeadw. That is, if you aren't...busy," he looked towards Nikki, who seemed to be in shock, and Scorpius, who was seething as he said the last word, his tone no longer angry, but merely light. His expression was almost searching as he studied the two of them, but then he smiled in an almost mocking manner before reaching into his pocket and taking out his wand.  
Scorpius' hand instinctively twitched in the direction of his own pocket, which held his wand, but before he could get to it, Lysander was murmuring something under his breath. Not even a moment later, Scorpius felt a wonderfully warm sensation spread over his body. Looking down, he found himself completely dry, as if the water was being repelled from his body. Well, that certainly explained the other's dry appearances. Looking over, he found that Nikki was as dry as he was. Before Scorpius could even look back to him, Lysander was shoving his hands back into his pockets and walking off in the direction of the castle.

Albus' expression had not changed one bit; he glared at Scorpius with the utmost loathing before following Lysander towards the castle without a word.

Rose, refusing to meet the eyes of either Scorpius or Nikki, simply smiled in a hesitant way at Lorcan. "Goodbye, Lorcan," she said.

"'Bye, Rose," Lorcan replied, a small smile of his own playing around on his lips.

With a small wave, she departed after Lysander and her cousin.

Finally, but very slowly and hesitantly, Lorcan turned to meet the gazes of his two friends. "I know what you're thinking, so you don't have to say it," he said.

"Oh, you do? So you know that we're wondering why you couldn't just tell us, or why, all of a sudden, you decided to go hang around a bunch of Gryffindors? What, are you all buddy-buddy with them, now?" Nikki said. All of a sudden, it seemed she had found her voice.

"No...well, no, not really. Albus doesn't trust me, after what happened with James and I at the last Quidditch match. I can hardly blame him, really. And Rose...well, she was more accepting than any of the others."  
"Others?" Scorpius said, his eyes narrowing. "You mean, those two aren't the only ones?"  
"Uhm, well, no. James Potter sometimes comes around too, as do a few of Lysander's other friends. I don't know all of their names, yet, honestly." Swallowing, he glanced towards the castle. "Come on, let's get going. It's getting late, and you two are probably freezing," he said, seeming to have just realized that Scorpius and Nikki were soaking wet, while he had some time of charm to keep him dry.

"I can't believe this," Scorpius muttered. A muscle in his jaw seemed to be jumping, almost, as he clenched it. He didn't disagree, however, to heading back to the castle.  
"Why didn't you just tell us?" Nikki whispered, her eyes locked on Lorcan. "We wouldn't have cared - after all, he _is _your brother."  
"Speak for yourself," Scorpius spat. Clearly he was unhappy with Lorcan's choices at the moment.

"_That's _why I didn't tell anyone, Nikki! I knew someone, and especially you, Scorpius, would have to put in their opinion. I'm so sorry I miss my brother, and I'm sorry I don't ever feel like I fit in with any of you, either. You guys are all happy being in Slytherin, but I'm _not. _Not completely at least. Everyone has noticed that I don't act like the rest of you, not all of the time at least, and do you know how terrible that feels?"

Scorpius was stunned, and for a few moments he silently stared at Lorcan. So, apparently there had been more to what he had said in the Hospital Wing. It shocked Scorpius to hear that his friend was this unhappy, and he wondered for how long this had been going on.

"Lorcan-"

"No, just don't bother saying anything," Lorcan muttered. He had aready turned and was stalking back towards the castle, his head bent. Scorpius shared a look with Nikki before following him.

"But I-"

"Just drop it."

"No."  
"I said drop it, Scorpius."

"Why should I? Maybe I want to help? That, or hex you into next week for being such a prat about the whole thing."

Lorcan laughed in a hollow sort of tone. They had almost reached the castle by the time he replied. "Funny. Absolutely hilarious, Malfoy. You should be a comedian, you know."  
"Yes, yes, I know. I'm wonderful at everything I do, including bringing joy into all of your dull lives. But I'm serious, Scamander. I want to help, or something. And by 'I', I mean mostly Nikki."

Although it was obvious he did not want to, Lorcan could not help but smile at Scoprius' words, while Nikki merely shot the blonde boy a look. "Just don't tell Renee or Oliver, okay? I don't know how they'd handle it. I'll try not to disappear as often, all right? And er, sorry, I suppose. I know you guys are just trying to help. So...thanks, for that."

Scorpius merely nodded, but said nothing else. He wasn't good in these kind of situations. He was surprised to see that they had already gotten to the castle, and he stopped when they reached the Entrance Hall.

"We won't tell them. And it was no trouble, right Scorpius?" Nikki offered when he continued to say nothing.

Scorpius hesitated before sighing and nodded again. "Right," he said.

Lorcan studied the other two for a moment before smiling slightly. "Thanks. And you know, I think you're going soft, Malfoy. The old you would have, like you said, 'hexed me into next week' for doing something like this. Maybe you aren't as tough as you think you are." With a wink and a small laugh, he began to walk away, in the direction of the dungeons.

Nikki laughed quietly in reaction to Scorpius' scowl, but said nothing as she watched Lorcan's retreating figure. "You know, I think you might have some competition now, Scorpius," she said thoguhtfully.

"Competition? What are you talking about?" he said, looking over at her with a small frown.

"Lorcan. Did you see the way he was looking at her, and the way she looked at him?"

"At who? Can you please try to make sense for just one minute?"  
"At that Weasley girl, of course. I can't be the only one who noticed the way they were looking at one another."

Scorpius was silent for a few long moments before he looked away, ignoring the kicking sensation he felt in his gut. "Why should I care?"

Nikki merely smiled at him and lightly touched his shoulder in an almost sympathetic manner before walking off in the same direction as Lorcan. "Good point - why should you?" she called back over her shoulder.

( Well, despite the VERY long wait, there you go. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Hopefully now that I'm less busy, I can update more quickly. Again, sorry for the super long wait, everyone! /3 )


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